The present invention relates to an emergency stretcher or cot and, more particularly, to an emergency stretcher that eliminates “base sag” and remains in its compact, folded configuration, which results in the cot being easier to load or unload from an emergency transport vehicle.
When a stretcher is unloaded, for example from an ambulance, it is often desirable to allow the base of the stretcher to be quickly released and lowered from its compact configuration in the ambulance to a ground engaging position spaced further from the patient support or litter of the stretcher. This release is referred to as a “hot-drop” function, which allows a single emergency medical technician (EMT) to remove a stretcher out of the back of an ambulance without the need for a second EMT or helper to hold or assist the base being moved down to the ground. To configure the cot so that the base can quickly drop, cots incorporate the use of extendible or collapsible support legs. Because of the collapsible nature of the support legs, when the stretcher is in its folded, compact configuration there may be wobble or end-to-end movement that is inherent from the telescoping legs and their respective joints, which can make loading the cot into the patient compartment of the emergency vehicle more difficult.
Accordingly, there is a need for a stretcher with increased stiffness when the stretcher is in its extended, or raised, configuration to reduce the side-to-side tilting of the litter surface that may occur on prior ambulance stretchers.